Penn, Sanchez Cleared for UFC 107

Lightweight king B.J. Penn
stared into the eyes of his latest challenger, and neither man
blinked as they traded verbal barbs upon being separated.

Penn checked in at 155 pounds for his showdown with Diego
Sanchez (154.5) in the UFC
107 “Penn vs. Sanchez” featured attraction this Saturday at the
FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tenn. Sanchez initially weighed in at 156
but dropped an extra 1.5 pounds upon hitting the scales again. All
but one of the 20 other men booked to compete -- including
co-headliners Frank Mir
(264.5) and Cheick Kongo
(239) -- also made weight without incident at Friday’s official
weigh-in.

Welterweight Edgar
Garcia tipped the scales at 173 pounds for his matchup with
“The Ultimate Fighter” Season 9 runner-up Damarques
Johnson (171). The World Extreme Cagefighting veteran was given
time to shed the additional weight and made the cut to 171.

The soon-to-be 31-year-old Penn has not tasted defeat at 155 pounds
since his majority decision loss to Jens Pulver in
January 2002. He last appeared at UFC 101 four months ago, when he
successfully defended his lightweight crown with a fourth-round
submission victory against Kenny
Florian. A decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and gifted
stand-up fighter, Penn holds notable wins against former Pride
Fighting Championships titleholder Takanori
Gomi, one-time UFC welterweight champion Matt Serra and
future hall of famer Matt Hughes.
He remains one of only two men -- Randy
Couture being the other -- to hold UFC titles in two different
weight classes.

“I just want to enjoy all of this,” Penn said. “I want to go out
there and do my best.”

In Sanchez, he faces a stern test. Unbeaten as a lightweight, the
mercurial 27-year-old will carry a four-fight winning streak into
the five-round tilt. Sanchez, the middleweight winner on the debut
season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, has never been
finished in 23 career bouts and counts victories against reigning
Sengoku champion Jorge
Santiago, recent UFC signee Michael
Guymon, Strikeforce standout Nick Diaz and
perennial welterweight contender Karo
Parisyan among his 21 conquests.

“One word,” Sanchez said. “Destiny.”

Mir, meanwhile, has not competed since his brutal technical
knockout loss to UFC heavyweight champion Brock
Lesnar in July. The 30-year-old has never lost back-to-back
fights. Arguably the division’s most feared striker, Kongo has
posted three wins in four bouts. He last appeared at UFC 99, when
he dropped a unanimous decision to the unbeaten Cain
Velasquez.